Once They Put You In a Box
by MauMauKa
Summary: Chris isn't the only one trapped in Castle Rock.


**Once They Put You In a Box**

_**I love the movie **_**Stand By Me**_**. This is just a dark little tale that came out of it! I own nothing, of course-Maumauka**_

"What the hell?" Chris Chambers muttered as he pushed his way through the yelling crowd on Castle Rock's main sidewalk. Had it not been for the female screaming and crying and male yells about calling the cops, he would have assumed that Ace and his gang were scuffling and would have gone away from the disturbance instead of towards it. He saw Charlie Hogan and Billy Tessio and Eyeball in the throng, but Ace was nowhere to be seen. Eyeball looked stunned; his mouth was hanging slightly open and his good eye was as wide as a saucer as he stared over Billy and Charlie's heads at whatever was going on. "Get the hell away from her if you know what's good for you!" roared a man's voice. "I swear to Christ I'll give you double!"

"_Make_ me, you worthless bastard! You just fucking _make_ me. " That was Ace's voice, low and deadly and oddly breathless. The woman, whoever she was, continued to sob and moan. "Stop! _Please!_ Just stop!"

Chris pushed his way between a big guy in overalls and Bruce Webster, a kid he knew from school, and took in the scene. A woman in a faded print dress was cowering against Ace's car, her nose bloody and one eye already beginning to swell shut. Ace stood in front of her, his own lips swollen and split from what could only have been a set of knuckles. His fists were raised and he glared at the older man in front of him. Chris shook his head and whistled under his breath. The other guy might have been older than Ace, but he was nine times bigger, and Ace was pretty big himself! The guy had to be all of six-six, and he looked like he weighed at least 280. His longish blond hair had streaks of gray in it and his face was seamed with scars. "Don't make it worse for yourself, boy." He growled. "Your Momma's got her lesson to learn, and I'll be happy to teach you one when I'm done with her. Just get out of the way."

"Olaf, please! It's _my_ fault! Don't take it out on Andrew!" the woman wailed.

_Andrew?_ Somehow, Chris had never thought of Ace Merrill having a real name. He had been "Ace" ever since Chris had first heard of him. He had never thought of the leader of the Cobras having parents, either.

"Your goddamn right it's your fault, Betsy! What have I told you, time and time again?"

"I d-don't go to town without your p-permission" the woman choked as she began to cry again.

"She isn't a little kid. And she isn't an idiot" Ace hissed. "And she doesn't need to ask you for money to buy groceries anymore!"

Olaf snarled and swung at Ace, who dodged aside but kept carefully kept himself between his father and mother. "Oh _ayuh!_" sneered the elder Merrill. "She has _you_ now, don't she? Did you know your boys a thief and a cocksucker, Betsy? Pretty soon they're gonna throw his worthless ass in the Shank. He's dogshit. Nothing but a piece of dogshit ."

"Tell you one thing old man…if they _do_ throw me in, I hope it's for killing you." The Cobra leader's voice was almost a whisper, but Chris had no trouble hearing it. Ace drew his switchblade, only to have his father grab his arm and twist. There was an audible _crack!_ And Ace yelled. The knife went skipping across the pavement and another punch rocked Ace back against the car, coughing and spitting blood. Olaf Merrill grabbed his wife by the hair and began to slap her face, slowly and almost methodically as his son struggled to regain his balance. "White trash!" Chris heard someone in the crowd mutter. "If they kill each other, the whole town'll be better off."

Ace managed to get himself upright again and with a yell he leaped onto his father's back. Olaf threw him off easily. Ace landed flat on the pavement and Olaf whirled to kick his son in the ribs. Sirens in the distance made him back off and grab his wife's arm. He opened the door of a nearby blue pickup truck and threw her inside before going around to the driver's side. He got in and roared off, and the crowd began to disperse.

Chris looked around to see if anyone was going to help Ace, but the Cobras were nowhere in sight. A sheriff's cruiser pulled up, its sirens blaring and Elmer Hodgkiss, one of Castle Rock's three deputies, got out. "What the hell is this?" he asked almost philosophically. "Ace, you been cutting up again? Looks like another county visit for you."

"Eat shit" Ace mumbled.

"What was that, boy?" Hodgkiss asked pleasantly as his black boot whipped out and caught the fallen Cobra in the hip, making him groan. "I don't think I heard you."

"I said eat sh—"

"He wasn't cutting up" Chris said.

Elmer Hodgkiss turned and gave Chris a long, considering look. "You're one of Elton Chambers' boys ain'tcha?"

"Yeah." Chris waited, his hands in his pockets, but the deputy merely tilted his head. "You saw what happened here."

"Yeah. This guy was beating a lady up, and Ace was trying to stop it." Chris didn't mention that the people in question were Ace's parents. He had an idea it wouldn't be wise. Ace was still lying on his back on the pavement, staring up at the bland blue sky overhead.

"_Ace Merrill_ was trying to keep a woman from getting beat up?" Hodgkiss shook his head and began to chuckle. "You're gonna have to learn to lie better than that. There are at least ten girls in this down that have had to go to Doc Jordan for icepacks after Ace got through with them. Try again."

"No, that _is_ what happened."

"Uh-huh. Did you happen to _see _this alleged fight?"

"Yeah."

"Can you describe it?"

"Nothin' to describe" Ace said in a gritty voice. "Me and a few of the guys got into it. My friends like to cheat when they play five-card stud. One of em' owes me twenty." He rolled onto his side and pushed himself up, his back to Hodgkiss.

Hodgkiss laughed a phlegmy laugh. "Nice try, kid. Do yourself a favor, okay? Don't run around with these punks. You got two of your brothers up at the state penitentiary already and Eyeball's on his way. This guy—" he jerked his thumb over his shoulder at Ace. "—ain't worth the spunk it took to make him."

Chris stared at the deputy then glanced at Ace, who didn't move or answer.

"As for you" Hodgkiss turned back to Ace. "You have five seconds to get out of here before I run you in." He got back into his cruise and roared away without another word.

Chris took a few tentative steps in Ace's direction. "You okay, man? Your arm—".

"Get the hell out of here before I cut your throat, Chambers." Ace turned and looked over his shoulder. His lips and broken nose had puffed up to the point where his eyes were only slits in his face. A hank of sweaty blond hair hung over his forehead and his teeth were bared, but his voice lacked heat. "I'll be all right. I always am."

Chris stared at him for a long moment before he turned and walked away. How often had he played out that same scene? How often had he, Chris, played it out with _his _old man?

"And Chambers?"

Chris turned. "Yeah?"

"Go squealing to the cops about what happened today and I really WILL kill you. I don't need no more trouble at home, and they're not gonna give a shit. You know that already."

Chris nodded. He did. It was the town. It was Castle Rock and the way people thought of you in Castle Rock. Once they put you in a box that was it.

"Go on. Get!"

Chris turned and walked away. Behind him, he could hear Ace cursing as he got to his feet.

**~Fin~**


End file.
